New members

Dear new CaGIS members:

Welcome to the Cartography and Geographic Information Society!  I am pleased to welcome you aboard!  You are one of almost 150 people who signed up for the complimentary 18 month membership to CaGIS at the ESRI User Conference.  We will do our best over that period of time to show you just how much this membership can mean to you!

First, our mission statement:  The Cartography and Geographic Information Society supports research, education and practice to improve the understanding, creation, analysis, and use of maps and geographic information to support effective decision-making and improve the quality of life.

To get started, let me introduce you to some of the benefits of your membership: 

• ACSM Bulletin:  This magazine offers helpful information about the mapping sciences.  Access it online at: www.acsmcongress.org/bulletinonline/webmazine.htm.  
• CaGIS Journal:  This is our flagship publication -- through the publication of authoritative articles and international papers, it serves as a forum for the exchange of original concepts, techniques, approaches, and experiences by those who design, implement, and use geospatial technologies.  Access it online at www.ingentaconnect.com/content/acsm/cagis.  
• AutoCarto Conference:  In 2004, CaGIS resurrected the long-successful AutoCarto Conference to bring together from around the world researchers and scientists who are working at the interface of cartography and GIScience.  AutoCarto 2008 will be held at the beautiful National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV from September 6-10, 2008. 
• U.S. National Committee to the International Cartographic Association (USNC-ICA):  CaGIS is the organization that represents the U.S. to the ICA.  The ICA meeting is held every two years -- this year it is in Moscow from August 4-10.  CaGIS is helping to fund a majority of the 50+ U.S. who are presenting papers and posters on national cartographic advancement to our international colleagues.  
• Awards:  We also sponsor a number of student and professional awards, including the Annual Map Design Competition, the CaGIS Journal Student Paper Award and the CaGIS Scholarship.  See the attached flyers for more details or check out our web site at: www.cartogis.org/awards.

There are additional benefits as well -- check out the CaGIS web site at www.cartogis.org to learn more.  We will keep you posted about CaGIS activites as they arise.

Aileen R. Buckley
2007 CaGIS President